Going public after YEARS of lurking to say how much I am enjoying this. I am a huge fan of the book and I think that for the most part they have been as faithful to the source as possible with a few exceptions: the escape from Osaka seemed a lot less unhinged and maniacal on Blackthorne's part than the book version, so much so that it was halfway done when I realized that oh, shit, THIS is the escape? But...okay, I can live with it. The production design is amazing, and it really brings feudal Japan to life in a way I have not seen portrayed before.
The casting is very well-done across the board, especially the major players (Blackthorne, Toranaga, Ishido, Hiromatsu etc), and props to whoever it was that named Nestor Carbonell as Rodrigues, I did not recognize him at all; he is doing a great job. I enjoy the actor playing Alvito, as well, and I think the actor playing Yabushige is crushing it, too; you can really see his wheels turning all the time as he tries to maneuver. BUT...a standing ovation to Anna Sawai, who is absolutely owning the character of Mariko: such a complex character with so many loyalties and contradictions, and she is nailing it. I really did not enjoy her character in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (those three characters, the "kids", were all so damn annoying and not in a good way, and I could not stand it when they were onscreen), and I really questioned her casting for this when I saw it. Huge turnaround for me regarding her, I think she is amazing here - I hope she will be the breakout star here, she is earning it.